After spending half the day in bed catching up on some Grey's Anatomy, I got a call from a fellow chef  inviting me for late lunch at this new Japanese Restaurant Called ORA. So I decided to do little research about the place. Interesting, I must say.... ORA had'nt even opened it doors and yet it was already a hit on instagram and the rest of the Kuwait social media community. But that was not what I wanted to know though. As a Chef myself, when a new place opens, I'm more interested in the people behind the scenes than the name, but thats a story for another day ;-)

Fast forward, we get there... And I must say myself, I was sold from the moment we entered the door. The dining area was spacious, clean, and very welcoming to say the least. We had a look at the menu and it had more lots of beatiful dishes to choose, from Cold Tapas, Hot Tapas, Salads, Sigiture Sushi Rolls, Donburi's ( A Japanese "rice bowl dish" consisting of fish, meat, vegetables or other ingredients simmered together and served over rice), Dessert and finally Fresh Mocktails....
So in the blistering heat, I decided to kick things off with their Ginger & Lemon Ice Tea

From Hot Tapas I had the Tiger Creamy Shrimp. 

Signature Sushi Rolls we tried the ORA Crispy Roll

Crispy Rice with Tuna

Robata Grilled Lobster

Aslo tried thier Fresh Water Melon Juice

Cinnamon Bred Pudding (My flavourate*****) and Homemade Ice Cream

The place is beautiful! From the fresh flowers on the table, to the chilled out music playing in the background and the wierd but awesome art piece they have mounted on the wall. You can't help not notice such things. The  food as well is on its own level... Nothing out of the ordinary for me but definately something to try out when you are craving for something new and fresh. I must warn you though, the place is a bit pricey and some of the portions are a bit below par.

Other than that I liked the place on a once off basis. So i'm giving ORA a 4* seal of approval.
Want to try it out? Swing by at Arabella Mall  and check the place out

Choux pastry is a great recipe to have in you cooking arsenal, it is a versatile product that can be used for sweet and savoury dishes. Depending on your piping capability you will be able to pipe eclairs, profiteroles, choux buns and even choux pretzels. Making classic pastries such as Croquembouche, St. Honore, éclaires, Choux Swans and Paris-brest. If you are more of a savoury person, use all of  the classics and use them in savoury applications. For example instead of filling the profiteroles with creme patisserie, use a fulling of cream cheese, smoked salmon and dill. Or use the St. Honore as a base for your next sautéed  Mushroom medley with fresh ribbons of baby asparagus and a mushroom stock Veloute. Or the next time you want to make your own gnocchi, you will be able to make your own Choux pastry. Choux pastry truly has an endless amount of uses that can make your next dinner party that bit more Extraordinary. 

Recipe

•  250g water
  
• 75g butter
  
• 150g plain flour
  
• 180g egg (scramble eggs and then weigh) 
  

Method 

1. Pre-heat your oven to 220C/482F
2. Start by adding your water and butter into a medium sized sauce pan and bring to the boil.
3. Sift flour to prevent lumps in your pastry 
4. Once butter is completely melted remove from the heat and then add in your flour.
5. Using a wooden spoon, vigorously stir the mixture till it becomes a smooth paste with no flour lumps.
6. Once there are no lumps, and then allow to cool down slightly.
7. Now gradually add in your egg mixture while you vigorously stir the mixture to prevent egg from coagulating. 
8. Once all your egg mixture has been mix in, you should have a smooth some what firm mixture. 
9. Place into your piping bag and pipe onto silicone paper into the shape you desire. (to prevent silicone paper moving around the baking tray, use some of the pastry to glue it down.) 
10. Before you place the tray into the oven sprinkle some water over the tray to help the pastry to puff up nicely. 
11. Keep in the oven for about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. 
12. Remove and allow to cool down, one cooled use in desire application. 

I enjoy having fresh clean foods while I watch Rugby or football games. My favourite snack to make must be "Nachos", I simply love the simplicity of nachos and how incredibly easy it is to quickly whip up. The main things that attract me to this dish is the use of completely fresh and clean ingredients. But people seem to rather go out and buy the salsa and guacamole ready made from the store, which I do not under stand. Firstly the guacamole has this unpleasant green color that I've never seen when I make my own. Then when it comes to the salsa, the ingredients simply don't have the crunchy juicy texture they had when they were made. But today with this recipe I hope I can inspire people to rather make all of this at home. So they can enjoy this wonderful dish the way it was ment too. . . Fresh! I have decide to give you a recipe for the traditional salsa and then another recipe which makes use of mango as the main component. The mango salsa is perfect for beautifully grilled salmon or even as a condiment for a spicy curry.

Traditional Salsa 

Ingredients 

• 1 large firm tomato
• 1 large firm green tomato
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 medium green chili
• 1 medium red chili
• 1/2 large cucumber
• 1 flame grilled corn cob (optional) 
• 1 lime
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsp chopped coriander
• 1 lemon

Method

1. Start out by deseeding your cucumber and tomatoes. (you can use the seeds of both the tomato and cucumber to make a fresh bloody merry) 
2. Now carefully remove the corm from the cob by using your knife and then place it unto a medium sized bowl. (use a transparent glass bowl to show off all the colors) 
3. Now you can start to cut your chili's and onion into fine brunoise (see glossary) and place in with the corn
4. As for the tomato and cucumber, you want to give it a slightly large brunoise to that you still keep a good texture for the end product. (if you wanted too, you could remove the skin of the cucumber and tomato but I prefer not too) Add along with the rest of the ingredients.
5. Now squeeze  the juice of the lemon and lime into the bowl and give it a good stir. 
6. Once all your ingredients are cut to the appropriate sizes and shapes add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and stir once more. 
7. Place into the fridge for 5 minutes to cool down a bit and then it is ready to serve with your nachos 

I will be posting a recipe for home made corn nacho chips and guacamole  soon so keep an eye out for that.  

Today I have decided to keep it simple with a easy home made chili oil. It does how ever take a bit of time, but at least you don't have to stand over it the entire time. Its also a very small ingredients list as well as amount of steps in the method. Some people choose to simply use this oil for a colourful decoration and some for actually enhancing the entire dish. There are plenty of ways to play around with this easy to make and long lasting oil. You can choose to incorporate more of a complex flavour profile by adding different spices, one really nice one for me is the Rosemary oil and mint combination for drizzling over roasted leg of lamb. As I mentioned earlier, this is a product that you can easily store in a air tight bottle or container and it will last you a good 8-12 months. As for what oil is the best to use when making your own flavoured infused oil, it should be a tasteless oil with little to no taste of its own. Some of the oils I would recommend include a good quality sunflower seed oil, canola oil or a good quality vegetable oil. While doing this you might also want to make use of you thermometer to ensure that your oil does not get too hot,other wise the ingredients will burn and you will be left with a bitter tasting oil. 

Ingredients 

• 300ml of canola oil 
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or 1 tsp dry chili flakes)
• 1 fresh chili 

Method

1. Place all your ingredients into a medium sized pot and then place on top of a medium to high heat. 
2. Allow the oil to come up too 85C/185F and then put it on a low heat. 
3. Allow for the ingredients to infuse on the low temperature for a good hour. 
4. Once the hour has past, carefully remove from the heat and allow to cool down
5. Once cooled down, slowly with out disturbing the ingredients at the bottom, pour the oil into the container you have chosen to store it in. 
6. If there are still some impurities, you can strain it through a fine sieve or muslin cloth. 

This is one of the simplest prepared sauces which you can prepare in under 3 minutes. The word Meuniere translates literally to "miller's wife". Meuniere also refers to both a sauce and a cooking method used mostly for delicate fish. The cooking method is when you dredge the fillet of fish in seasoned flour. The reason for this it to protect the fish due to its delicate nature. Later on I will post a great fish Meuniere recipe with french style mint peas but today I'm going to show you how to make just the sauce. The reason I love this sauce is because it's sharp and refreshing due to the lemon juice, and is also silky smooth and velvety from the butter. The salty cured capers also add a lovely dimension to the sauce which would otherwise make the sauce flat if  not incorporated. 
This is going to be my last post from South Africa. My next post will be when I'm in Kuwait and starting my next culinary journey in the local cuisine as well as in Japanese cuisine! I'm very excited and eager to share it with all of you. 

Ingredients 

• Juice from 1 Lemon 
• 6-8 salted capers
• 3-4 cubes of butter
• 3-6 caper fruits
• 1 tsp fresh dill
• 6 lemon segments 

Method 

1. Place a pan on a medium to high heat and allow the pan to heat up (if you add your butter when the pan is not hot it will simply separate before it can cook). 
2. Once hot, place your butter into the pan, stirring it continuously. 
3. Once the butter has completely melted remove from the heat and add in your salted capers and lemon juice all the while constantly whisking. 
4. Once the sauce has emulsified add your caper fruit, lemon segments and fresh dill. Allow to infuse for a minute or two in a cool place (do not heat this sauce too much otherwise it will split. If it does not really emulsify when you add your lemon juice then add another cube of butter off the heat)

Edited by: Monique Boaventura

Potatoes and onions are two ingredients which don't always get the respect they deserve. These two ingredients are almost always the basis of most dishes. The potatoes are used as the starch component on the plate, which serves as the delivery and bulking component of the dish. The onion being the base of most sauces out there, forming the foundation of the sauce, and we all know if you don't have a good foundation, you're going to run into trouble later on. So I decided to make these two the working horse of the kitchen and the stars of the dish today. Using only a few herbs to add a bit of flare and a dash of wine and cream for a bit of body. This is a great hearty dish, perfect for a cold summers day. I've also paired the soup with the crunchy element of potato tuile's, to add a different texture and colour to the plate. For the garnishes I've used a sprig of Rosemary and some Oregano flowers just to bring a bit of green to the party.  Some chopped chives or even spring onions sprinkled over the top would also do wonders to the presentation of the dish. 

Ingredients 

• 6 Medium Sized Potatoes 
• 2 Large White Onions 
• 1 tsp Chopped Rosemary
• 1 tsp Chopped Thyme
• 1 tsp Oregano 
• 1 tsp Smoked Paprika 
• 1/2 Chilli Flakes
• 1/3 tsp Ground Black Pepper
• 125 ml White Wine
• 500ml Vegetable or Chicken Stock
• 50ml Cream (optional) 
• Salt to taste
• 4 tsp Butter
• Baking Paper/ Silicone Paper 
• Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice
• 3 Bay Leaves 

Method 

1. Place large pot on your stove on a high heat and preheat your oven to 180C/356F. Add 2 tsp butter and a good dash of olive oil in the pot (the base of the pot should be covered with oil and butter ).
2. Cut 5 of the 6 potatoes into small cubes, leaving the skins on. Then place into pot once hot, stir every minute ( don't worry if they stick to the pot, just let them caramelise and then they will come off the base). 
3. Slice your 2 onions and place into the pot with the potatoes after 10 minutes. 
4. Add your herbs and spices and constantly stir, you will notice that a layer of caramelised ingredients will form on the base of the pot. Add a 1/3 of the wine and scrape the layer off the base. This will continue and every time simply add the wine to remove before it becomes burnt. Do this about 6-8 times and this will give your soup a lovely amber colour at the end (if your run out of wine, simply use the stock).
5. After repeating the deglazing process 8 times add in the remainder of your stock (it should at least cover the potatoes, if not simply top off with water) and allow to simmer till the potatoes are soft and tender. 
6. Now take a hand blender and blend your soup until smooth, then continue to simmer for another 20 minutes ( if you do not have a hand blender, place small amounts at a time into your blender. If you don't have a blender either, simply use your hand mashers and roughly mush the potatoes.) 
7. Melt 2 tsp of butter, season with salt and pepper then add 2 tsp of oil. Place into a bowl and use for your potato slices you're about to cut. 
8. Take the remaining potato and cut into thin as possible slices and place the slices into the seasoned melted butter. 
9. Get a oven tray and line with one layer of silicon paper. Place your potato slices onto the paper taking three slices and laying them down so that they over lap each other slightly. 
10. Place another layer of silicon paper over the top and then another baking tray on top to press them down. Place into oven and bake until golden brown on the bottom. Remove and take off the paper to use as a garnish in the soup when serving. 
11. After your soup has been simmering for 20 minutes and you would like to add some cream, now is the time. Add the 50 ml of cream and stir, allow to simmer for 5 more minutes and then your soup is ready to serve. 
12. Garnish with some chive, spring onions or even some fresh herbs. 

Edited by: Monique Boaventura

So this is another one of my own inventions, and I had to bake about 8 breads before I got all my ingredient percentages right in order to get the desired consistency in my final product. All the Rye breads I've bought all seemed to be the same, they were all very heavy and dense. I personally don't like having rye bread like that, I would have preferred it to be a bit more aerated with a nice crisp crust. So I took it upon myself to make the kind of rye bread I would enjoy having. But lets first talk a bit about the main things that make rye flour different to that of normal white flour. The two main components which jump out to me is the flavour profile as well as the significantly lower gluten content. The flavour of rye flour is much more prominent than that of white flour, thus rye seeds are also used to make whisky, vodka and even beers. The significantly reduced amount of gluten has a huge effect on the elasticity of the dough, it doesn't allow stretching and instead breaks.  You will see when working with rye flour it resembles something more to that of a thick paste than dough. This makes it difficult to work with when your making your bread. Unlike when using white flour where the dough becomes stretched and strengthens when you knead it, rye flour simply does not strengthens at all. This causes a lot of people to add loads of white flour when they make their rye bread, which changes the ratios completely, meaning they won't get what the recipe intended at the end product. Making bread is a science, so when you make this recipe keep in mind not to add loads of white flour, simply combine all your ingredients as directed in the method and work it till everything is well incorporated. 

Another very important aspect to remember when baking bread and intending to increase the volume of bread is that you can't just simply double or triple all the ingredients. Each ingredient is given a percentage of the complete dough, and to ensure you get what the recipe intended you need to adhere to those percentages. If you just double or triple the ingredients, you will not have the correct consistency. This will leave you with a dough that is either over hydrated or under hydrated, and in return you will add more or less flour than what was intended. You will have noticed that in the final product your dough is very dense, is not well aerated or is even under baked because of this. 

I will be posting 2 pictures of examples where I increased the original recipe to 3.6kg. If you do not understand what I have done to get the new amounts simply leave a comment and I will be glad to help you out. I will discuss this topic at length on one of my other posts in the near future. In this recipe I've made use of a Poolish method (which is a loose preferment) to gain two different advantages from it, this being increased flavour and  gluten development. When you make a preferment, you allow for the yeast and the flour to create a more intense flavour profile. I have also used a small amount of whole wheat flour in the recipe, and made use of the little amount of gluten in there to create some sort of a stretch in the final dough, thus by using it in the preferment I'm allow it to form gluten. 
Note: The ingredients used in the Poolish method are not extra but instead are from the overall ingredients. Please don't use separate ingredient for the Poolish method.

Ingredients 
Overall amount 

• 300g Rye (75%)
• 100g W/w Flour (25%)
• 100g Rolled Oats (25%)
• 400g Water (100%)
• 12g Salt (3%)
• 40g Sugar (10%)
• 10g Dry Instant Yeast (2.5%)

Poolish Method (these amount are to be taken from the overall amount)

• 100g Rye (33.33%)
• 100g W/w Flour (100%)
• 100g Rolled Oats (100%)
• 300g Water (75%)
• 4g Yeast (40%)

Poolish Method 

1. Place the yeast into a medium to large container and add the 300g of water (the water should be between 34-42˚C) and allow to bloom for a minute.
   
2. Now add in your oats and two flours, mix well till totally incorporated and then allow to ferment for 12 hour or over night in a dark warm place. 

Method

1. Once your preferment is ready, place your salt and sugar in a mixing bowl first, then your flour and water, and then yeast ( never place the yeast straight onto the salt or sugar). 
2. Mix till most of the flour is incorporated and next add all of your preferment.
3.  If you're using a mixer, turn the speed up to medium and allow to mix for 2 minutes and then scrape down the sides and mix for another 3 minutes. 
4. If you kneading by hand, you will notice it is very sticky and does not come together like normal dough. Don't worry just continue kneading till all the ingredients are well incorporated ( this should take about 8-12 minutes).
5. Now place the dough into a air tight container or simply wrap with plastic and allow to bulk ferment for 1 hour in a dark warm place. 
6. After the hour has passed dust a bit of flour over the top and simply degas it by knocking it down in the bowl. Allow to ferment(proof) for another hour. 
7. In the mean time you can pre-heat your oven to 190˚C
   
8. Now that the bulk proofing is complete, remove your dough and place on a well floured station. Simply fold the dough onto itself once or twice and then form into a rectangle that will fit into you baking tin. 
9. Brush you baking tin with either butter or oil, and then place dough inside and allow to final proof for 45-60 minutes (remember to cover the dough with a lose plastic sheet).
10. Once final proofing is done drop 3 ice cubes in the bottom of your oven and place your bread in the oven. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. It should have a lovely dark golden top when complete. 
11. Remove and allow to cool down for 30 minutes. 

Enjoy with a bit of salted butter.  


Edited by: Monique Boaventura

This sauce can be made and used with many different proteins or stir-fry dishes. It's a very simple and easy recipe to follow, and can be stored in the fridge for 1-2 weeks (ensuring the container which is being used is properly sterilised).

For the wine I used a good quality Merlot, it has a lower tannin count than other more full bodied red wines such as Cabernet or Sauvignon. The tannin in wines are what give the wine the bitter and woody puckering sensation. With less tannin in the Merlot, it allows for the fruity essence of the wine to be more present, making it perfect for the sauce. 

Ingredients 

• 12 Ripe Plums (skin and seeds removed)
• 2 Granny Smith Apples or any dessert apple (peeled and cored)
• 2 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• Juice of one Orange
• 1-3 tbs Sugar (Depending on the sweetness of the plums and apples add sugar accordingly)
  
• 200 ml Water 
  
• 20 ml Red Wine (fruity wine works best - optional)  

Method 

1. Place a medium to large sauce pan on a high heat and allow to heat up, once hot add in your wine if you chose to add the wine (this just burns off some of the alcohol).
2. Add your peeled and cored apples as well as your peeled and pitted plums which you have cut into medium size pieces. 
3. Allow to cook in the wine till it becomes some what sticky.
4. Add your sugar, lemon juice, orange juice and salt, and allow to reduce once more to a stick consistency. 
5. Next add your 200 ml of water and turn the heat down to a simmer. Once the apples are soft place mixture into blender (or simply use a hand blender) and blend until smooth. 
6. To ensure there are no impurities, pass through a sieve once and place back into the pot and onto a medium heat ( unless you are happy with the consistency).
7. Allow to reduce down till it coats the back of a spoon and is at a correct sauce consistency.  
8. Allow to cool before placing into storing containers and then place into fridge until needed. 

Edited by: Monique Boaventura

This is a simple, quick and easy recipe to follow. It's healthy and packed with lean protein. This is something I would personally cook for myself when at home as it tastes amazing. I will also be posting the recipe for the plum sauce tomorrow or later this evening. This recipe is suitable for one portion, simply double or triple it accordingly. 



 Ingredients

• Ostrich Fillet (serving size should be 250g)
• 6 Baby Carrots
• 8 Sugar Snaps (fresh peas in the pod)
• 3 Baby Radishes (cut into 1⁄2)
• 6 Button Mushrooms
• 2 tbs Plum Sauce ( you can get it at the convenience store, but if you'd like a recipe for plum sauce just let me know)
• 2 tsp Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice

Method

1. Place a big pot of water on a high heat with 3 tbs salt. Once it starts to boil add in your vegetables and boil till ready (a sharp knife should be able to cut into it and slip out when taking it out, rather under cook it a bit than over cooking it). Once ready to be taken out, place into a big bowl with iced water to stop the cooking.
2. Place the plum sauce, soy sauce and lemon juice into a small sauce pan and heat until plum sauce melts, give sauce a good whisk and keep on low heat.
3. Place a pan onto a high heat and pre-heat your oven to 200˚C.
   
4. Place a small amount of oil into the pan, season your ostrich fillet with salt and pepper and allow the pan to heat up until it starts to smoke.
5. Once pan is smoking place your ostrich fillet into the pan and allow to cook for 3-4 minutes on each side (only turn once and don't mess with it too much when it's in the pan).
6. Once its been in the pan for 7 minutes (3.5 minutes on each side) transfer into the pre-heated oven for 4 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and brush on the plum sauce and allow to rest for 3 minutes.
8. While the meat is resting, using the same pan used for the searing of the ostrich, place a bit of oil in the pan and a small cube of butter. Allow to heat up and then add in your vegetables so they can heat up again and get some colour. Season vegetables with salt and pepper.
9. When plating the meal, pour a bit of the plum sauce over the ostrich.

www.chefdewet.co.za 
Twitter: @ChefDewetV 


Edited by: Monique Boaventura

This recipe I'm posting today is a traditional one, with no fancy extra ingredients that will win you the "Checkers Boerewors of the Year". But feel free to start off with this as a foundation and play around with it, make it your own. Every weekend in South Africa, hundreds and thousands of families partake in what we call the "Braai", to others it is known as the BBQ. This is a good time for us as it's a time where families and friends get to relax with a ice cold beer, my favourite's being Black label and Castle Light, and enjoy good food as well a big screen in the outdoor lapa or stoep (veranda) watching a good rugby game. The gentlemen would stand around the braai where every single one of them will check the meat (they can't help it) and the ladies would be busy in the kitchen making potato salad, beetroot salad and mielie pap. Once all the food is cooked and ready to be eaten, its all laid out on a big table where everyone can help themselves. It's when everyone all comes together and talks about anything and everything. And by this time they have had a few and the conversation is flowing and everyone's just having a great time! Braai is a really big thing here in South Africa, we have a national Braai Day as well as a song just for Braai Day, I'll place a link at the bottom for the song. 

Recipe 

• 2kg Lean Beef (you can either buy the meat and mince it yourself or ask your butcher to mince it for you) 
• 1kg Fatty Pork (you can either buy the meat and mince it yourself or ask your butcher to mince it for you) 
• 45g Coriander Seeds (toasted and roughly ground ) 
• 5ml Cloves (toasted and finely ground)
• 2 tbs Salt
• 1 tbs Black Peppercorns (toasted and finely ground) 
• 2ml Ground Nutmeg
• 10ml All Spice (toasted and finely ground) 
• 10ml Brown Sugar 
• 125ml Red Wine
• 90g Casings 

Method 

1. If you have chosen to mince the meat your self, place the chunks of meat through your meat mincer at quite a coarse grain. 
2. Once all of your meat has been minced place all of your dry ingredients with the meat and mix well . Add the red wine and mix in thoroughly.
3. Allow for meat to rest for about 30 minutes in the fridge.
4. Now using your sausage stuffer attachment place the casing around the nozzle and add you minced meat. Slowly start to stuff your casing making sure to create a thick sausage.  
5. Cook on a open fire for best taste. Enjoy. 

Edited by: Monique Boaventura